Descriptive Writing Activity

1.) We will begin by discussing the importance of sensory information when writing description. Authors include specific detail about what they see, hear, feel, taste, and smell in order to bring the writing to life.

2.) Describe the sensory characteristics of autumn.
Begin by charting things you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell that are specific to autumn.


Charts might look like this:

What we:

See	Hear	Taste	Feel	Smell
gold/orange leaves	crackling fire	apple cider	chilly air	roasting chestnuts
bonfires	crunching leaves	Halloween candy	itchy sweaters	apple pie
Jack-o-lanterns	whistling wind	roasting turkey	wind in your hair	fresh, crisp air
Indian corn	honking geese	candied apples	fallen leaves underfoot	hot mulled cider

or…for Halloween

See Jack-o-lanterns	Hear scary music	Taste chocolate candy	Feel chilly air	Smell toasted pumpkin seeds
ghosts	Trick or Treat!”	“candy corn	shivers down your spine	apple cider
trick-or-treaters	howling wind	popcorn balls	heavy trick-or-treat bags	popcorn
skeletons	crunching leaves	candied apples	wind in your hair	burning leaves

3.) Select one or two favorite items from each sensory list, combine them in four lines ending with the “topic word”to create a seasonal poem. Experiment using commas or the words “and” or “too” to adjust the rhythm of each line of the stanza. "Play” with the rhythm by trying different combinations, always reading the latest version aloud.

Ex.Indian corn and apples,
Skeletons and trick-or-treaters,
Whistling wind, crackling fire,
Howling wind and chilly air,
Candied apples, cider too,
Candy corn and jack-o-lanterns,
Chilly air and fallen leaves…Autumn.
Shivers down your spine…Halloween.

4.) Now do a poem of your own that uses two topics about a similar subject. Create tables like the ones above and then combine the words to create the poem. Put all of this work on the descriptive writing page on your blog..